Everyone's Gone to the Movies
by lycosidae89
Summary: The Children go to the cinema, while Misato deals with a B-Movie in real life. Set somewhere in Episodes 11-13, while there's still a little happiness.


"We should ditch this and go to the movies."

Shinji looked down at the redhead, startled. Asuka was scowling on a bench, leaning back and kicking her heels in an obvious display of frustration. It was unlike Asuka to want to leave the EVA testing facility, at least before she had an opportunity to lord her superiority over her two fellow pilots. He glanced over at Rei in an attempt to gauge her reaction, but the blue-haired girl was sitting quietly in her plugsuit, her face locked in its usual expressionless mask.

Finding no help there, Shinji tried to calm the irate German girl down. "I'm sure they'll call us in soon. It can't be much longer..." he trailed off doubtfully. Personally, he felt the waiting had only begun.

Apparently Asuka agreed with his private assessment, because she exploded at his mild tone. "Longer, Third?! If it were any longer, I'd be as old as Misato when they were done! I can't believe this! I mean, what if an Angel were to attack right now. We'd be sitting ducks!" Tiring of Shinji's sudden paralyzation, she directed her next outburst at the First Child. "Come on, Wondergirl, even you have to think this isn't how they should treat EVA Pilots."

At first Shinji thought Rei was going to ignore the redhead's question like she usually did, but to his surprise she briefly stirred. "It has been - quite a while," she pointed out mildly.

Asuka paused, startled at this unexpected response before rallying. "Thank you! Even Wondergirl gets it." Shinji couldn't quite decide whether this last insult was directed at him or Rei, but as he opened his mouth to argue back the intercom sparked into life.

"Sorry Children, I'm afraid school's out for today." The amused voice of Ritsuko echoed from the speaker, and the faint, familiar sound of Misato barking orders mixed with Ritsuko's words as she continued. "There's been a sudden protein contamination in the Thirteenth Chamber, and we can't risk a infection spreading to the EVAs. You've all been cleared to leave."

"Unbelievable," Asuka muttered as the speaker crackled with Ritsuko's departure. "You think that bottle-blonde witch couldn't have told us this hours ago?"

"It could be worse," Shinji said. "Isn't it nice to have a half-day off?"

"Well of course you would say that-" Shinji and Asuka continued bickering as they began walking down the hall, leaving no-one to observe Rei's tiny nod.

* * *

"Unbelievable." Misato sighed, echoing Asuka without realizing it. She leaned on the console next to Ritsuko, peering at the letters and numbers on the computer screen that were, to her, primarily gibberish. "What do you think could have caused this protein outbreak?"

"I don't know, but we'd better handle this fast," Ritsuko said calmly, typing away with a rapidity that spoke of a life spent on a keyboard. "It's a bit closer to Unit One than I'd like."

Misato snorted. "You think? Another five minutes and it could have attacked the EVA directly."

"What I want to know is how it got in there. The drones just laser-wiped that chamber yesterday!" Ritsuko complained.

Misato scowled, turning Ritsuko's words over in her mind. "What I want to know is how to kill it."

* * *

"Ah, fresh air!" Asuka crowed, twirling about on the steps of NERV. Shinji followed more cautiously, not feeling that a stairway was any place to pirouette.

"And it's not even nighttime! Can you believe it, Third?" She raised her arms and then let them drop. "I still think we should go see a movie."

"You seem pretty excited about that idea," Shinji offered cautiously.

"Of course I am!" Asuka replied, turning about with her eyes sparkling. "Haven't you seen all the ads? 'The Monster of the Second Impact' - there's posters of it all around the city." She pointed to a faded flyer on the wall of a nearby building, and Shinji could just make out screaming figures being pulled down into some sort of writhing ooze. A horrible feeling rose in Shinji's stomach. "Asuka-"

Asuka was still talking. "-and because Hikari says she can't watch horror movies, I figured I'd invite the one person I _knew_ had nothing else to do." A sly grin came over her face. "Unless you're too scared as well?"

Shinji sighed. "I guess not," he said dejectedly. The unpleasantness of sitting through a horror movie couldn't compare with the days of teasing he could expect from his roommate if he failed to come along, but that didn't mean he was looking forward to the next few hours.

He turned his head as he heard Rei's gentle footfalls coming down the stairs. "Rei, Asuka's serious about seeing a movie. Do you want to come along?" Rei looked him up and down, considering, and then to his surprise answered "Yes."

He turned back to Asuka, who suddenly wore a flat expression. "Inviting Wondergirl, are we?" Shinji blinked, but before he could respond the look on Asuka's face had changed again to one of determination. "Of course, as the lead pilot here, it's my responsibility to get the two of you to the theater on time. Follow me!" she said, as she spun on her heel and marched off.

Shinji groaned inwardly. At least she was walking in the right direction this time; he just hoped he could convince her that it was her idea to get on the correct bus.

* * *

"-so, as you can see, the protein is using a reversed Qliphothic attack in an attempt to block the EVA from achieving manual Apotheosis." Ritsuko concluded, drawing a swift diagram on the whiteboard within the conference room.

Maya, sitting in the chair nearest to her, gasped. "That would disrupt the harmonics necessary for EVA to cross the threshold for fully synchronized activation!"

"Precisely," Ritsuko said, capping her pen. "I couldn't have put it better myself."

Misato rolled her eyes slightly at the faint blush that sprang up on the technician's cheeks, and said "That's all well and good, but we still don't know how to get rid of it." She spun her chair towards Commander Fuyutsuki. "Commander?"

Fuyutsuki massaged his temples. Unfortunately for him, Ikari was closeted in one of those interminable SEELE council meetings, with strict orders to not be disturbed for anything less than another Angel attack. _And one of those isn't scheduled for another few weeks,_ he thought to himself. _At least, if SEELE's interpretations of the Dead Sea Scrolls can be trusted. _Aloud, he said "What I'd like to know is how this thing got in here."

"I think that is a very good question," came a new voice, the speaker having just entered the room.

"Ah, Mr. Kaji," Fuyutsuki said, his voice laced with irony. "How kind of you to join us."

"Is your presence really necessary?" Misato said, a touch of heat evident on her face.

Kaji flashed a grin around the collected NERV officials. "I'd say it's not like the janitorial staff to be so sloppy."

"They're not," Ritsuko replied. "That whole area was decontaminated just two days ago, and they appear to have done a thorough job."

Kaji considered the matter. "Then, if this is unconnected to the Angels-"

"It isn't," Maya interrupted. "No Pattern Blue has been detected throughout the entire facility."

Rubbing his chin, Kaji nodded. "Well, then, I'm afraid that only leaves one likely option."

He looked about the room, waiting, until finally Misato asked "And what would that be?"

Kaji smiled, enjoying the drama. "Sabotage."

* * *

Shinji was out of breath chasing after Asuka. "If we - had taken - the bus - I wanted," he panted, "We wouldn't be - late."

"You're always so pushy, Third, but only after the fact. It's very unmanly." Infuriatingly, Asuka didn't seem to be feeling the same shortness of breath. Shinji cursed his lack of P.E. training prior to coming to NERV.

"Unmanly? What are - you talking about?" Shinji gasped.

While still running, Asuka managed to clasp her hands to her chest. "I'm sure _Kaji_ would be able to keep up with me." She directed a hard stare at him. "In fact, he would have driven me right up to the front door!"

Shinji kept his mouth shut. If Asuka expected him to apologize for being too young to drive, she had another thing coming. He glanced back at Rei, who was doing her best to keep up with Asuka's pace. Thankful that he wasn't the only one laboring, Shinji slowed down a little to match her.

"How are you doing, Rei?" he asked, maintaining a steady jog.

Rei blinked. "The Second seems eager to arrive," she said, gesturing towards the figure slowly pulling ahead from them.

Shinji gave a weak chuckle. "I guess she's been looking forward to to this." A thought struck him. "Have you ever seen a horror movie before, Rei?"

Rei shook her head. "I have never seen a movie before."

"Well, they're not for everyone, but I'm sure you've seen worse fighting the Angels..." Shinji belatedly realized what Rei had said. "Wait, do you mean you've never seen a movie before? At all?"

Rei nodded, slowing down so as to avoid running into Asuka, who had stopped in front of a somewhat run-down building. Asuka turned about, wearing a patronizing smile. "Here we are, Children. We've finally arrived."

* * *

"Hey Katsuragi!"

Misato scowled and kept walking. Perhaps if she could reach the escalators ahead of Kaji, she might be able to maintain her lead...

No such luck. Kaji's face appeared next to hers, grinning cheerfully.

"What do you want?" she growled, annoyed.

"I thought we should talk about the obvious security breach that's just happened," Kaji said, his voice light and airy.

Misato snorted. "Is that all?"

"For right now," Kaji allowed. His expression turned serious for a moment. "I was thinking of interviewing some of the staff who were working around that time. Care to come along?"

"Sorry," Misato said, "but as Director of Operations it's my responsibility to ensure this thing's destruction. I'm going up to take a look at it myself."

"Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me." Kaji stopped walking to let Misato get ahead of him. If she had been paying attention, she might have wondered at the troubled expression on his face.

* * *

The theater was mostly empty, a victim of the dwindling film industry, as well as a diminished appetite of the remaining population for monster movies. When each day brought with it a renewed chance for a helpless death at the hands of an Angel, light escapist movies generally did better business. Shinji quietly wished it was one of those films they were going to see.

"Alright Shinji, go get us three tickets." Asuka ordered premptorily, her voice echoing slightly in the absence of any crowds.

"Me?" Shinji complained, startled. "This was your idea, you know."

Asuka sniffed. "A lady doesn't pay for her own tickets, Shinji. I'd expect even a boy like you to understand that."

"Alright, I suppose," Shinji sighed, beginning to walk to the ticket office.

"Oh, and I'll take some popcorn and something to drink as well." Asuka added.

Shinji's shoulders slumped. "I kinda wish NERV paid us."

"Surely you don't expect me to go without snacks? You should be thanking me for this opportunity, Third!"

"Thanking you?!"

Ignoring the other two Children fighting, Rei drifted over to the arcade games set along one of the walls. Most of them were obviously broken or covered with 'Out of Order' signs, but the claw machine seemed to be working. She spent some time staring into the depths of it, faded toys still lining the bottom. Although she might have liked some offering from the machine to enliven the dreary nature of her apartment, the thought of playing the game never entered her mind.

She looked up as Shinji approached her. "Ready to go, Rei?" He gestured with the snacks Asuka had weighed him down with. She nodded.

* * *

Misato sighed, staring down at the pool of processed LCL that rippled a hundred feet below her perch on the catwalk. From this position, she could just make out the rapidly-growing protein mass expanding across the surface of the LCL like scum on the water, turning everything it touched black. She clicked the button on her radio. "How much longer is this going to take, Rits?"

"Not too much longer," Ritsuko said, her voice tinny over the radio. "The MAGI just have to finish analyzing its chemical composition, and then we can release the precise compound that will halt its replication." A pause, and then, "Has Kaji gotten back to you yet?"

Misato grimaced. "God's gift is still questioning the staff. Apparently there's a fifteen minute window where the security cameras were deactivated."

"Sounds like whoever it was had a high security clearance," Ritsuko offered.

"Yeah, or was able to fake those credentials." Misato replied. She clicked the radio off, and then back on. "Have the MAGI reported any external hacking attempts?"

"Not a one," Ritsuko replied, a burst of static briefly obscuring her words. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," Misato said, whatever intuition it was receding back into the depths of her subconscious. "Just let me know when we're ready to kill this thing."

Misato could hear the amusement in Ritsuko's voice. "Roger that, Major," she replied.

_I know Ritsuko thinks I have a one-track mind,_ Misato thought to herself, _but I don't care. The sooner we get this mess cleaned up, the sooner I can collapse onto a bed_. She leaned forward, curious, as the protein mass seemed to become agitated.

_That's weird, _Misato thought, _it almost seems like there's something in there. _ She leaned further forward, straining her eyes. It looked like the symbols that decorated Commander Ikari's office were being replicated within the ooze, but subtly different and wrong...

Misato leaned closer.

* * *

The movie started out simply enough, with a scientific expedition journeying to the South Pole. "Pretty standard stuff," Asuka explained kindly, relishing the chance to display her superior knowledge of film plotting to Shinji. Personally, he prefered something a bit quieter and less bloody, but he couldn't bring himself to tell Asuka that. His mouth turned down. _I get enough of this stuff in my real life_, he thought.

The movie didn't waste too much time developing doomed characters, Shinji supposed. Instead, it seemed to retain all its creativity for the elaborate deaths that the scientists faced, the obvious skill demonstrated in filming them a stark contrast to the overwrought acting of the characters in the rare peaceful moments.

Shinji covered his face with his hands, but that didn't block out the screaming coming from the screen. He was fully regretting allowing himself to be dragged along to this.

Beside him Asuka was laughing at his distress. "You can look up, Shinji, it's over," she said gleefully, prodding him with her elbow. He did so, and found himself confronted again with more screams and viscera. He covered his eyes again.

Shifting in his chair, he peeked over at Rei. She was sitting quietly, her eyes never leaving the screen. She had refused all offers of treats and had remained motionless in her seat, hands clasped in her lap. Shinji supposed that Rei wanted to fully absorb this new experience, if it was true that she had never seen a movie before. _At least she's handling it better than I am_, he thought glumly.

"You're such a wimp, Third." Asuka said, shoveling popcorn into her mouth and chewing noisily. "You need to learn to be more of a man and -eek!"

On screen, the heroic American scientist Asuka had been rooting for was suddenly torn apart by batlike figures that sprang from the corners of the room. As the mangled creatures messily devoured his remains, Asuka grabbed onto Shinji's arm and abruptly buried her face in his shoulder. He froze, his arm feeling as though it was on fire, as he concentrated on not breathing or moving a muscle. _If she doesn't realize what she's done, maybe she won't kill me when this is over_, he thought to himself.

Beside them, Rei turned her cool gaze back towards the movie, her thoughts seemingly unreachable to any observer.

On the screen, tendrils rising from the muck reached towards the heroine's face and-

* * *

"Katsuragi!"

Misato blinked, and found herself about to lose her balance and tumble over the railing. The mass below boiled and hissed as strong arms encircled her and pulled her back to safety. She turned round to see Kaji's face, rendered stark white. He crushed her closer. "What were you thinking?"

Too astonished, she could only mumble, "There's something going on down there."

"And so you thought you'd dive in to check it out?" Kaji released her a second before she could compose herself enough to thrust him away. He smiled, his color returning, but his eyes were still serious. "That stuff will strip you down to the bone. I wouldn't advise touching it."

Misato gave a shaky laugh. "Then I'm glad there's a thick wall separating it and Unit One." A thought struck her. "How do you know so much about-"

Just then the alarm klaxons sounded and lights began to flash. Kaji froze, his gaze darting about. "What's going on?" he asked.

"I have no idea," Misato said, grabbing the radio from her belt. "Ritsuko, what's happening? All the alarms down here just went off."

"We don't know!" Ritsuko's voice crackled from the radio. "Something just- my God..."

"What is it?" Misato demanded, but just then her question was answered. With a low rumble that caused the catwalk to vibrate, the dividing wall between the Thirteenth Chamber and Unit One had begun opening up, allowing the two LCL pools to mingle with each other. With a howl, the protein mass consolidated and surged forward, directly towards the hulking figure of Unit One.

Misato darted to the edge of the catwalk again, with Kaji close behind her. "It's heading straight for the EVA!" she cried, gripping the railing. Kaji stood next to her, but remained silent.

Just before the black mass could touch Unit One, the eyes of the EVA lit briefly. The telltale geometric flash of an AT Field sparked to life, and passing over the protein infection unceremoniously removed it from existence. The alarms stopped, the shuddering of the catwalk halted, and all became quiet once again. Even the ripples in the LCL faded into nothingness.

With her hands trembling only slightly, Misato raised the radio to her mouth. "Unit One activated by itself again," she said with a calm she did not feel, "destroying the target." She slowly lowered the radio, ignoring the requests for clarification that came flooding over it. Looking over at Kaji, she found him uncharacteristically grim.

For a while they stayed, silently watching the monster in the water...

* * *

Rei and Shinji were waiting outside the theater, leaning against the wall. Asuka had remained inside to complain that there was something wrong with the popcorn, blaming it for her temporary loss of control. "I just felt dizzy for a moment," she had told Shinji furiously," so that's why I grabbed onto you. You'd better not make a big deal about it!" she had finished, blushing from what Shinji could only think was embarassment.

Asuka was incomprehensible, he thought, unconsciously rubbing his arm as though it was still burning. He turned to Rei and asked her, "So what did you think of the movie?"

Rei paused for a moment, thinking. "It was - interesting," she finally concluded.

"Yeah, it was that." Shinji said. "I hope you enjoyed it. You didn't seem nearly as frightened as I was!" A brief silence fell, one that made Shinji nervous, so he tried again. "Actually, that wasn't really my kind of movie. But Askua was excited, so-"

Rei didn't respond. Shinji fished around in his pocket, trying to find what he had placed there. "I noticed you looking at the claw machine, so I got this for you." He drew out a small stuffed rabbit, its plastic fur the same color as Rei's hair. "I thought you might like a souvenir," he finished awkwardly.

Rei stared at the toy. "For me?" she asked, and Shinji shrugged. "Sure, if you want it," he said, and was gratified to see Rei gently take the toy and clutch it to herself.

Shinji watched, alarmed, as Rei seemed to internally struggle. Slowly, she asked, "Were you afraid, because those creatures were inhuman?"

At a loss, Shinji said, "What do you mean, Rei?"

Rei paused once again, searching for words. "I mean, were those monsters frightening, because they lacked human form?"

Shinji laughed. "I suppose that's part of it-" he said, turning his head as Asuka walked out the front door of the building.

Asuka stood, looking around until Shinji waved to catch her attention. She strode over to them. "We can go now," she said imperiously. "Don't worry - I let the staff know exactly what I thought of their substandard service."

"Did you have to?" Shinji asked wearily.

Asuka sniffed. "Proper criticism is the only way for people to improve themselves. _You_ should know that better than anyone else, Third."

"Does that mean I get to pick the next bus we take?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I'd like to get home before midnight," Asuka said archly. "Now let's move out!"

She began rapidly walking down the street, leaving Shinji mutterering "That's the wrong way," to himself as he chased after her. Rei followed slowly, still hugging her doll.

* * *

One man was working later than his fellows in an anonymous office building, silently nodding as each of his colleagues passed his office on their way out. The quiet this man preferred was broken abruptly by the sudden ringing of his telephone. He grimaced as he picked it up, and with no preamble he said, "It isn't safe to talk for very long on this line."

"I'll keep it quick," Kaji said, leaning casually on his desk as he scanned the room to make sure he was alone. "Our little test failed rather abruptly, like I told you it would. It seems self-preservation is a virtue that crosses species."

The man frowned, leaning back in his chair. "Aren't there proper channels you should be going through?" he asked.

"I don't have time for that sort of thing right now." Kaji said, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes. This little man was so far below SEELE that, despite working for them, for him to speak of channels and codes was laughable.

The man shifted in his chair. "We had to try something. Our masters need to be able to cover every contingency-"

"Your masters, maybe." Kaji interrupted.

The man frowned. "Careful, friend. They are all our masters."

"Perhaps," Kaji allowed. His eyes narrowed. "Luckily, no harm was done, so I'm not as irritated as I might have been."

The man ignored the implicit threat. "Do you have any further suggestions?" he asked, unable to keep a trace of sarcasm from escaping him.

"It's like I told you people," Kaji sighed, the exhaustion he had been keeping at bay settling into his bones. "You aren't going to control the EVA from outside the entry plug. One way or another, you have to accept that the pilot is the key to it all."

* * *

Rei quietly closed the front door. "I'm home," she said to no one in particular, the building silent except for the slow drip of water from the faucet.

Noiselessly she prepared for bed, feeling tired from the day's exertions. She lay down for a brief while, and then acting on impulse arose, padding softly into each room. As she did so, there was a brief click and an exposed bulb shone light into the dim apartment.

Finally done, she climbed back into bed. And clutching her stuffed rabbit, with every light in her apartment on, Rei Ayanami waited for morning.


End file.
